


December

by ottermo



Series: Fandot Creativity [12]
Category: Cabin Pressure
Genre: Fandot Creativity, Gen, Humans/CP Fusion
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-17
Updated: 2016-12-17
Packaged: 2018-10-09 16:02:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 1,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10415784
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ottermo/pseuds/ottermo
Summary: Fills for the 26th Creativity Night, December 2016.I didn't get here until round 3, but so far: Arthur makes an exciting discovery, world-renowned roboticist Carolyn works on a secret project, two little poems, and, er... world-renowned word-pronouncer Carolyn works on a secret project.





	1. Kitten Problems

 

“ _Wow_!”

Usually, when Carolyn overheard an expression like that, it was quickly followed by Arthur bursting into whatever room she was in and announcing excitedly that the world, despite being already quite brilliant, had just got even brillianter. She had trained herself out of the inclination to ask before he announced it. Sometimes he needed the extra time to form it into sentences.

So that night, when she heard Arthur’s exclamation, she stayed put. Herc, sitting in the armchair opposite, gave her a questioning look. _I have no idea_ , she eyeballed back to him.

After a minute or so, sure enough, Arthur appeared in the sitting room, his eyes shining. “Mum! Herc!” he exclaimed.

“Both in attendance, yes,” Carolyn said.

“Something brilliant has happened!”

Herc put down his mug. “And what might that be?”

“It’s Merlin!” said Arthur. “He’s had _kittens_!”

This was allowed to sink in for precisely 2.5 seconds, at which point Arthur bounded back out of the room, calling them to “Come and have a look!”

They came and had a look.

Herc’s look was one of adoration. Carolyn’s was one of mild appreciation, certainly, but also concern. “Are you going to be able to take care of them yourself?” she asked Arthur, who was kneeling next to Merlin’s basket, peering delightedly at the four tiny, furry bodies.

“Well, I should think Merlin will be able to help a bit,” said Arthur. “He’s going to be a great dad.”

“Don’t you mean–” Herc began.

“No,” said Arthur, conversationally.

“The problem is, they’ll need checking on ’round the clock, for the first little while,” Carolyn continued. “What will you do, while we’re on flights?”

Arthur sat back on his feet and considered this. “I can’t take them with us?”

“No,” said Carolyn immediately. “No cats in the hold. Ever again.”

Herc looked baffled at this, but didn’t say anything.

“Then I suppose I’ll have to stay with them,” Arthur said. “Just for a little while. That is,” he paused and looked sincerely up at the two of them, “If you think you’ll be able to manage without me?”

Carolyn and Herc exchanged a look, and grinned. “I think we might _just_ struggle by.”

 

 


	2. Lies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is an AU fusion with Humans (the other love of my life, which comes HIGHLY recommended). You don't need to know anything about the show to understand this, though. Basically, Carolyn is a scientist with a secret.

 

“What are you doing?”

Carolyn scooped up a pile of papers and threw them into the bottom drawer of the filing cabinet, slamming it shut with her foot. “Tidying,” she said, briskly. “There’s some bigwig coming round to assess our funding. Specifically, whether or not we deserve more of it.”

“Oh.” Arthur paused. “And do we?”

“You’d better hope we do.” She went for another pile of notes, hiding these ones underneath the supply of new paper in the printer tray. “But it means no side projects. No secret work. It needs to look like I'm… focused.” There were two empty mugs on her desk - she put one inside the other and hid both behind her computer monitor. “Like I don’t sleep at my desk half the time. That sort of thing.”

“Am I secret work?”

Carolyn paused to consider. “Partly,” she said. “They know that I've… They know I’m working on you. But I was supposed to have stopped, when they brought me here. So, look. When they come in, play dumb, all right?”

His screen flickered. “You want me to… lie to them?”

“Yes. If he asks you anything about sentience, about… any of that, then just give an error readout. As far as they know, you’re just a computer programme I named after my dead son.”

He doesn’t reply at first. Carolyn swipes one last notebook and hides it in the deep pocket of her lab coat. “Arthur? Do you understand?”

“Yes.”

“Good.”

“I don’t like it when you say it like that.”

Sighing, she turned to face his monitor. “I’m sorry.”

“I’m not dead.”

“I know you’re not dead. But my work here is… They think it’s important. If they find out I’ve been spending the past eight months working on consciousness transference and not robotics, I’m finished. We lose this lab, we lose all the storage your mind’s taking up.”

“I’ve been trying to forget some things, to give you some space. But it doesn’t seem to work.”

“No.” She bit her lip. “It won’t, I’m afraid. Not until we get you back into a body. Look, Arthur, you just need to play along while the grant overseer’s here. You tell them you’re a standard AI I built to help me while I work. If that was really what you were, you wouldn’t be able to lie to them, so they’ll accept it and go away. Then we can go back to normal. What was it you wanted me to show you today?”

“Polar bears. I’d like a little family of them on my screen, please.”

Carolyn chuckled. She rested a hand on the side of his monitor, a gesture she’d grown so accustomed to lately, even though she knew he couldn’t feel it, could only see the curve of her arm as it reached out of the view of the lens. “Then you shall have them, dear heart.”

 

 


	3. Opposite

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time for some poems! This one is the less stupid of the pair.

 

The opposite of up is down,  
The opposite of smile is frown,

The opposite of nice is mean,  
The opposite of dirty’s clean,

The opposite of good is bad,  
The opposite of happy’s sad,

The opposite of brave is scared,  
It seems like every word is paired -

Like big and small and dark and light,  
Like brilliant and…  
                              _ he’s all right._

 

 

 

 

 

 


	4. After

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I may actually have been half asleep writing this. That's the best explanation I can think of.

 

 

Ay bee see dee ee eff gee,  
Aitch eye jay kay ell em en oh pee.  
Queue are ess, tee you vee,  
Double you ex, why and zee,  
Chee fray shnee, shkwu ep dwum plu,  
All these letters are real and true,  
Hoo gru krip troo, stip grum trix,  
Cabin Pressure could’ve run to series 6.

 

 

 


	5. Quick

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick by name, quick by nature - just a little ficlet to finish off.

 

Carolyn looked down at the sheet of paper in her hand, checked again what was printed there, and compared it to what she’d written underneath.

She could do this. She could definitely do this. She, of all people, would be able to master this. They would all be so impressed - Martin, because he liked things to be done properly - Douglas, because he liked things to be done well - and Arthur, because he liked things, in general.

All it would take was a spot of practice.

She looked back up, met her own eyes in the mirror. She drew in a breath, and began.

“Quick–”

No. She sighed. Straight away, that wasn’t right. She looked back down at the note in her hand. Try again.

“Kick-ick-tar-ju-ack.”

She smiled into the mirror. She was ready to show the world.

 


End file.
